North Korea said Monday it will bolster its nuclear arsenal "in a newly developed way" to counter what it calls U.S. hostile policy and military threats toward the communist nation. The North also claimed in a separate statement that the U.S. has brought "heavy weapons" into a truce village that straddles the divided Koreas, warning of strong military action if they are not quickly withdrawn. North Korea has stepped up its fiery rhetoric against the U.S. in recent weeks after Washington sided with Seoul in condemning Pyongyang for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March. "The recent...

In the duel between North and South Korea, the question now is who will pull the trigger first? The answer may be neither, but don't count on it. The dueling now focuses on two quite different flashpoints. The first is the West or Yellow Sea, where North Korea has vowed to open fire against any South Korean vessel intruding in its waters. One issue there is how to define which waters are North Korean. The North refuses to recognize the Northern Limit Line, set by the United Nations Command after the Korean War (1950-1953) and challenged by North Korea in...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has put the Stalinist state's army on combat alert amid rising tensions after the March sinking of a South Korean warship was blamed on Pyongyang, a news report said on Tuesday. A high-ranking official read Kim's orders on national television last week, South Korea's Economic Daily newspaper said, citing reports by North Korean refugees. The order was issued after Seoul said Thursday that investigations had concluded that a torpedo fired by North Korea was responsible for the March 26 sinking of the corvette Cheonan, which killed 46 South Korean sailors. Kim did not want...

'Dear Leader' [KIM JONG IL] Blusters in Saddam's wake By RICHARD HALLORAN FOR THE STRAITS TIMES INTELLIGENCE agencies from Seoul to Singapore would pay dearly for the answer to perhaps the most intriguing question in Asia arising from the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq: What does the 'Dear Leader' of North Korea, Mr Kim Jong Il, like Saddam a charter member of United States President George W. Bush's 'axis of evil', think of this turn of events?The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), through which the hermit kingdom communicates with the rest of the world, was defiant several days...

North Korea on Semi-War Status by Kang Chol-hwan (nkch@chosun.com) January 15, 2003 The atmosphere in North Korea appears to be quite strained due to the rising tensions over its nuclear development programs and threatened resumption of missile testing. Through radio on January 4, Pyongyang is known to have issued an order placing the armed forces and militia under "semi-war status," and instructed the general public to stay where they live (Japanese version: "hold and protect their own ground") on January 11."Under a semi-war status, North Koreans are banned from leaving their villages and workplaces except when they attend the funerals...